Functions of the Core This Core builds on the nanotechnology strengths at the University of Washington (UW), one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the west coast, and one of the preeminent research universities in the worid. The UW Center for Nanotechnology (CNT), directed by Professor Francois Baneyx, was established in 1997, and has more than seventy-five faculty members from the Departments of Chemistry, Physics, Bioengineering (e.g.. Prof. Gao), Chemical Engineering {e.g., Prof. Baneyx), Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Biochemistry, Genome Sciences, Physiology and Biophysics, and Microbiology. Its Ph.D. Program in Nanotechnology established through a National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (NSF-IGERT) award was the first of its kind in the nation; the program provides graduate students with excellent interdisciplinary education experiences in nanoscale science and technology and emphasizes career path development. CNT is also home to the NanoTech User Facility (NTUF), which provides the Pacific Northwest nanotechnology community with access to advanced characterization and nanofabrication equipment. In 2004, NTUF expanded its role to the national level by becoming one of 14 nodes in the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), an NSF sponsored network of 13 universities, whose mission is to establish the infrastructure for current and future research and education needs in nanoscience and nanotechnology. NTUF houses leading-edge instruments, that will be critical for the characterization of quantum dots (Qdots) discussed below. Imaging tools include a Leica inverted fluorescence microscope, a Renishaw inVia Confocal Raman Microscope, an FEI field emission SEM with electron beam lithography capability, a Vecco Nanoscope scanning probe microscope with scanning tunneling microscopy and liquid mode force-distance measurement capabilities, a Zeiss LSM510 laser scanning confocal microscope interfaced with an atomic force microscope, a Woollam imaging ellipsometer, and a recently acquired Tecnai 200 kV scanning transmission electron microscope (S/TEM) with tomography capability. Fabrication tools include soft lithography, a Nabity e-Beam lithography system in the SEM, an Oxford OpAL atomic layer deposition system and a Heidelberg maskless pattern writer. NTUF also performs in-house nanotechnology tool development by drawing on faculty research and expertise. In addition. Prof. Baneyx, Gao, and Yost also have state-of-the-art instruments in their own laboratories for nanoparticle fabrication, purification, and characterization (see investigator equipment lists). Within this framework, the proposed Core has the following specific functions: (1) Preparation of well-characterized and purified nanoparticles in sufficient quantities for the U19 projects; (2) Construction of an aerosol generation and nanoparticle carrier system for exposing air-liquid interface cultures (Project 1) and mice (Project 2) to Qdots.